Data Breach – The Cyber Forumhttps://www.thecyberforum.com
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 19:42:59 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8https://www.thecyberforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/cropped-justice-147214_960_720-32x32.pngData Breach – The Cyber Forumhttps://www.thecyberforum.com
3232Instagram Bug Put Forward As Facebook Security Breachhttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/14/instagram-bug/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/14/instagram-bug/#respondWed, 14 Nov 2018 04:24:47 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2294In September this year, it was reported that over 50 million Facebook accounts had been hacked and another 40 million could have been affected. Moreover, 81,000 private messages were put on sale by hackers. It appears now, that Instagram is also affected by such a security breach that leaked user’s passwords. This is basically a […]

]]>In September this year, it was reported that over 50 million Facebook accounts had been hacked and another 40 million could have been affected. Moreover, 81,000 private messages were put on saleby hackers.

It appears now, that Instagram is also affected by such a security breach that leaked user’s passwords. This is basically a feature on the platform that allows users to download a copy of their own data.

An Instagram spokesperson said:

This issue was exposed internally and affected a very small number of people. There is a possibility that those small number of people were using a shared computer, or may be logged into a compromised network that could have left their data open.

This Instagram bug affected people who accessed that “Download Your Data” feature. The report says that Instagram sent a notification to the affected users.

These passwords were available in the URL of users’ web browsers and were sent to the Facebook’s servers as well.

The Instagram bug has now been fixed. The feature had released in April 2018 that provides its users a platform to copy the data that they have shared.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/14/instagram-bug/feed/0Bank Account Hackers: FIA Arrests Key Members of the Ganghttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/09/bank-account-hackers/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/09/bank-account-hackers/#respondFri, 09 Nov 2018 08:35:06 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2249GUJRANWALA: FIA Cyber Crime Wing arrested the key members of the bank account hackers gang involved in telephone banking fraud. This arrest considered to be a great step towards the imprisonment of bank account hackers who were targeting the innocent people on an almost daily basis by their alleged means of banking frauds done through […]

This arrest considered to be a great step towards the imprisonment of bank account hackers who were targeting the innocent people on an almost daily basis by their alleged means of banking frauds done through phone calls.

According to FIA Assistant Director, the accused Shabbir was arrested from Hafizabad on a tip of another suspect Shafiq who was arrested on September 28 this year.

The arrest of these two members from the gang of bank account hackers released the information regarding their whereabouts of their other team members. There are more arrests expected from other regions of Punjab, said by FIA officials.

About a day ago, two same cases of back account hackers surfaced in Punjab where they destitute a teacher and a local person from their life savings.

Hackers withdrew over Rs0.3.3 million from the bank accounts in Pakpattan and Bahawalnagar as per some details.

In the latest cyber attack, a group of bank account hackers drawn off Rs0.2 million from a school teacher account in Pakpattan.

Abdul Ghafar, the victim, said his money was transferred in no time as soon as he provided his bank account details to a man impersonating as the bank official; for the investigation purpose.

He told that fraudsters destitute his five years’ savings and said that bank officials refused to compensate him. In a bank fraud withdrawn more than Rs0.12 million from a Bahawalnagar citizen’s account. The victim told that he deposited the money for his brother’s marriage.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/09/bank-account-hackers/feed/0Steal Cryptocurrency: 700,000 Websites Are Hacked In A Bidhttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/07/steal-cryptocurrency/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/07/steal-cryptocurrency/#respondWed, 07 Nov 2018 20:26:02 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2200A breach was experienced on Nov 3 by Statcounter – a well-known web analytics platform – in which around 700,000 web pages were hacked, as their mean was to steal cryptocurrency via malicious script and exchange Gate.io to generate Bitcoin addresses, according to the researcher Matthieu Faou. Faou identifies that the hacker was clever because […]

]]>A breach was experienced on Nov 3 by Statcounter– a well-known web analytics platform – in which around 700,000 web pages were hacked, as their mean was to steal cryptocurrency via malicious script and exchange Gate.io to generate Bitcoin addresses, according to the researcher Matthieu Faou.

Faou identifies that the hacker was clever because of the malicious code in the middle rather than in the beginning or at the end of a legitimate file which is harder to detect by casual observation. Even though the Gate.io service claims it doesn’t use Statcounter anymore now but the hacker clearly leveraged his advantages.

It’s still unknown that how many end-users are affected but Gate.io said; after they got the notice from ESET; that there’s a suspicious behavior in Statcounter’s traffic they immediately scan the system by antivirus products along with that they also claim to remove the Statcounter’s services.

There is nothing much to fear because the malicious script would active only if URL or web pages contain myaccount/withdraw/BTC that allow the hacker to fill his pocket but Cryptocurrency focused hacks are not new as they famously occurred in the past, particularly with Adobe Flash installers.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/07/steal-cryptocurrency/feed/0Retired Scientist Recovered Rs3 Million From Bank Account Withdrawn By Hackershttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/bank-account-withdrawn-by-hackers/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/bank-account-withdrawn-by-hackers/#respondTue, 06 Nov 2018 20:21:08 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2167ISLAMABAD: Amount of Rs3million withdrawn by hackers from a retired scientist bank account has been mysteriously regained this week. FIA sent a notice to the concerned bank after which Dr. Yousuf Khilji got all his money back into his account. As the voices being circulated among different bank accounts got hacked, Dr. Yousuf discovered that […]

]]>ISLAMABAD: Amount of Rs3million withdrawn by hackers from a retired scientist bank account has been mysteriously regained this week.

FIA sent a notice to the concerned bank after which Dr. Yousuf Khilji got all his money back into his account. As the voices being circulated among different bank accounts got hacked, Dr. Yousuf discovered that all his life’s savings are withdrawn by hackers in a suspected fraud transaction.

The suspected transactions were carried out on Oct 25 and 26, according to some details.

Recently, various media reports revealed a major cyber attack on different Pakistani banks withdrawn billions of accounts from accounts. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) denied all media reports and said that there is no evidence of banks data being hacked exceptBank Islami.

The SBP added:

We would like to emphasize that except for the incident of October 27, 2018, in which reportedly the IT security of one bank was compromised, no breach has been reported.

Additionally, State Bank has already instructed all banks to take all precautionary measure to protect their databases and upgrade their security systems to prevent any future cyber attacks. The payment schemes representative had also assured that they have taken all necessary steps to help banks in identifying any cyber threat on the card system. They offered additional control to make sure everything is going in line.

Moreover, some banks are taking all major steps to make sure their systems are well-protected against any cyber threat whilst others are confident of their security systems. These banks have continued all card transactions available in hand to their customers.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/bank-account-withdrawn-by-hackers/feed/0Disregarded By PayPal After A Fraudster Shut An Accounthttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/disregarded-by-paypal-account/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/disregarded-by-paypal-account/#respondTue, 06 Nov 2018 17:47:10 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2177The bank said it couldn’t help to refund the money as I didn’t have a PayPal account. Victim. An unauthorized transaction was made on the account and £220 was used to buy a Flight Gift Card. Then the fraudster closed the account. PayPal opened an appeal and stated that the money should be put back into […]

]]>The bank said it couldn’t help to refund the money as I didn’t have a PayPal account. Victim.

An unauthorized transaction was made on the account and £220 was used to buy a Flight Gift Card. Then the fraudster closed the account. PayPal opened an appeal and stated that the money should be put back into the account within 48 hours.

An email was sent explaining that appeal has been denied as the victim is no longer a PayPal customer as fraudster closed the account. After three weeks, PayPal advised the victim to ask from the concerned bank to raise a dispute since she is no longer a PayPal customer.

Victim (IB, Cardiff) told that:

The Bank told me that it couldn’t help as the fraud occurred on my PayPal account, not on my debit card.

For nearly a month, PayPal declared that it had closed the complaint as the account has been terminated. Then, it claimed that they could not do anything as the bank had issued a chargeback request – which hadn’t actually – and, finally, the bank had refused the chargeback request and returned the funds to the merchant – which was again not true.

It was revealed when the Observer intervened and disclose that it had messed up. A spokesperson said:

Due to human error, the unauthorized payment on the customer’s PayPal account was not appropriately dealt with….We have apologized and issued a goodwill credit to her account for the inconvenience caused.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/disregarded-by-paypal-account/feed/0Pakistani Banks Details Surfaced On The Dark Webhttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/pakistani-banks-details-surfaced-on-the-dark-web/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/pakistani-banks-details-surfaced-on-the-dark-web/#respondTue, 06 Nov 2018 14:57:31 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2182Officials of the FIA said that major Pakistani banks have suffered the country’s biggest cyber-attack affecting nearly 20,000 users’ data. FIA’s Director Cybercrime Wing Muhammad Shoaib told to a private news channel: More than 100 cases of cyber-attack have been registered with FIA and are under investigation. We have made several arrests in the case, […]

Pakistan Computer Emergency Response Team (PakCERT) released a report detailing about the timeline and scale of data leaks. It supported the SBP’s claim and said that Pakistani banks details were most likely leaked through card skimming.

Image Courtesy: PakCERT

According to the report, the Pakistani banks details first leaked on the site JokerStash under name PAKISTANWORLD-EU-MIX-01, containing over 11,000 record. More than 8,000 records contained atleast 9 pakistani banks details.

Image Courtesy: PakCERT

Later on, on Oct 31, another leaked with additional 11,000 records of 21 Pakistani banks customers appeared on the dark web. There were up for sale from anywhere between $100 to $160.

PakCERT says either some visitors to Pakistan or locals executed the plan with the help of some foreign groups. FIA is investigating the issue in depth to understand more aspects of the data leak.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/pakistani-banks-details-surfaced-on-the-dark-web/feed/0Facebook Data Breach 81,000 Private Messages From Hacked FB Accounts Were Put On Salehttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/facebook-data-breach/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/facebook-data-breach/#respondTue, 06 Nov 2018 10:42:14 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2174From recent times, Facebook and its management are hot waters due to its weak security and database systems. From the Cambridge Analytica Breach, around 30 million Facebook accounts were compromised. The latest Facebook data breach comes in the form of some 81,000 private FB messages being sold online. According to experts, this Facebook data breach […]

]]>From recent times, Facebook and its management are hot waters due to its weak security and database systems. From the Cambridge Analytica Breach, around 30 million Facebook accounts were compromised. The latest Facebook data breach comes in the form of some 81,000 private FB messages being sold online.

According to experts, this Facebook data breach can be traced back to a recent data breach that happened in September where on the average 30 million Facebook accounts were compromised. These hacked messages could have been extracted from those compromised accounts.

According to Facebook, the culprit is identified as a malicious browser extension and is not under Facebook’s direct control. The Facebook data breach was first highlighted in September when a username FBSaler on an internet forum posted:

We sell personal information of Facebook users. Our database includes 120 million accounts.

The claim was examined Digital Shadows – a cybersecurity – and it was found out that in fact, 81,000 profiles posted online as a sample did contain private messages.

Malfunctioning Third Part Apps

In many cases, third-party apps are usually involved in such cyber-attacks. Most recently, Apple users also suffered a data breaching app, Adware Doctor on MacOS which was rated No. 1 App for MacBooks on the App Store.

However, in reality, the app was sending private user data to Chinese servers placed in China. It was immediately removed from the app store. Since then, the rise in malicious attacks are getting common and it has increased Google responsibility to upgrade security protocols since Google owns 60% of the browsers market share and a lot of social media channels are dependent on Google Chrome.

The software reported that due to their strict security checks, the malicious Chrome extensions has decreased significantly but this Facebook data breach proves that malware contains browser tools still remain a serious issue.

Facebook executive Guy Rosen acknowledged the fact. He said:

We have contacted browser-makers to ensure that known malicious extensions are no longer available to download in their stores.

Furthermore, BBC states that details regarding Facebook data breach will be revealed in the coming months. Many affected users are from Ukraine and Russia, though some are from UK, US, Brazil, and other countries.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/06/facebook-data-breach/feed/0Pakistani Banks Are Hacked: FIA Officials Said Data of All Banks Are Hackedhttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/04/pakistani-banks-are-hacked/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/04/pakistani-banks-are-hacked/#respondSun, 04 Nov 2018 20:33:43 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2153As the biggest security breach on Bank Islami, doors of security theft are opened for other banks of Pakistan. There has a rippling effect on the banking system with at least 6 Pakistani banks have already suspended usage of their debit cards outside the country. There are still concerns being voiced that all Pakistani banks […]

]]>As the biggest security breach on Bank Islami, doors of security theft are opened for other banks of Pakistan. There has a rippling effect on the banking system with at least 6 Pakistani banks have already suspended usage of their debit cards outside the country. There are still concerns being voiced that all Pakistani banks are hacked and customers don’t know what to do.

Cybersecurity experts are warning that many Pakistani banks are vulnerable to cyberattacks and the central bank have already issued instructions to the local banks to make sure their cybersecurity system is well established and secure the data of their account holders and customers.

FIA’s top official revealed that almost all major Pakistani banks’ data have been stolen. A private news channel quoted the FIA’s Cybercrime Wing Director, Captain Retired Muhammad Shoaib revealing the disclosure to it.

Shoaib said that customers’ data from almost all major Pakistani banks was stolen in a recent security breach. He further told that according to the reports, most of the banks are affected.

Group-IB – a global cyber security firm – revealed in a recent report that hackers released a new dump of Pakistani credit and credit cards on dark web forums.

More than 100 cases have been registered with the FIA and are under investigation. We have made several arrests in the case, including that of an international gang.

FIA has written to the banks in the question and is summoning the banks’ representatives to discuss the situation. Issues of the cyber attack on Pakistani banks are stealing customers’ data also featured in the national Assembly session on Tuesday.

MNA of PMLN and former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal raised the issue in the house. He said that it is of prime importance to raise the significance of this issue and there are reports that data of Pakistani banks’ customers have been hacked.

He asked Finance Minister to take it into confidence. Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood while responding to Ahsan Iqbal’s point of order said that currently, the issue is under investigation. The government will put before the house all facts after completion of the ongoing investigation.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/11/04/pakistani-banks-are-hacked/feed/0Biggest Security Breach: Bank Islami Customers’ Lose Over $6 Million in Pakistanhttps://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/10/29/biggest-security-breach-bank-islami-customers-lose-over-6-million-in-pakistan/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/10/29/biggest-security-breach-bank-islami-customers-lose-over-6-million-in-pakistan/#respondMon, 29 Oct 2018 11:21:20 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2102Bank Islami – a renowned bank – in Pakistan seems to have a cyber attack in Pakistan’s history which is hacked with the biggest security breach in its data center and in the consequences, thousands of customers’ significant data have been stolen. The incidents came to place on 27th October, when its customers received messages […]

]]>Bank Islami – a renowned bank – in Pakistan seems to have a cyber attack in Pakistan’s history which is hacked with the biggest security breach in its data center and in the consequences, thousands of customers’ significant data have been stolen.

The incidents came to place on 27th October, when its customers received messages of their cards being used in many countries. When they complain, the respective bank denied all sorts of transactions.

Bank Islami’s Executive Fahad Tariq, initially refused all allegations and kept saying that there is no such security breach has happened to their data center. However, late on Sunday night, State Bank of Pakistan released an alert to all banks of Pakistan about such a biggest security breach.

A Bank Islami account holder has confirmed that he received a message notifying him about a transaction held from his card at an ATM machine in Russia.

The victim told that,

A message notified me that my card is used at a place in Russia. When I got the message I immediately contact the officials which simply denied of happening such an incident and started bashing over me for the leakage of particulars and blamed me that might I have shared my account details with a friend or relative.

He further told that meanwhile this conversation, I received 2 to 3 messages about my card being used at different other places in Russia.

“I was surprised and shocked to my core. The bank’s response was very disappointing. All my money was gone. I am left empty-handed.”

The account holder told that after hours of the incident, the Bank Islami notify to all account holders that all services Bank have been temporarily shut-down and customers will notify when the services will be released.

A senior banker dealing with the biggest security breach confirmed the news.

“This is true to the best of my knowledge – an unidentified group of hackers had broken into the data center of the said bank and stole the valuable data of the customers. This was unknown until the bank started receiving complaints from their customers regarding the theft.”

He also devised an estimated amount of about $6 million may have been withdrawn so far from the biggest security breach.

The hackers may have used the dark web to sell the data of Bank Islami account holders for $60-70 per account.

He further added,

“The money has been withdrawn at different locations at USA, Russia, and other countries. This is the biggest security breach in the bank history of Pakistan. Ever since cyber attacks started in the country, the biggest banks improved their bank systems and data security, and it was hard for the hackers to breach in. However, many small banks still have flawed security systems and are an easy target for scammers and hackers.”

He also claimed that Bank Islami was down in a bid for about 12 hours to stop these transactions.

As a result, the bank has temporarily locked down the usage of a card for international transactions and has also been instructed to submit advisory on the precautionary measures to be taken by the customers.

State Bank of Pakistan’s Directives

The state bank has instructed to take all necessary measures to immediately trace the vulnerabilities and fix it. Banks are directed to report to SBP in case of any unusual activity. State Bank will continue to provide help to the respective bank in all accounts and take further measures if required.

The following directives have been issued to all banks in Pakistan:

Security measures on all IT systems, including those related to card operations, are continuously updated to meet any challenges in the future.

Immediately coordinate with all the payment schemes, switch operators, and media service providers the banks are integrated with to identify any malicious activity of suspicious transactions.

Bank Islami Reply

Bank Islami also released a detailed statement in response to the biggest security breach in the history of Pakistan:

This is to inform that on the morning of October 27, 2018, certain abnormal transactions valuing Rs.2.6 million were detected by the Bank on one of its international card payment scheme. The Bank immediately took precautionary steps which, interalia, included shutting its international payment scheme. All monies withdrawn from the account i.e. Rs.2.6 million have been credited in the respective accounts of valued customers……Bank is confident that all risks of unauthorized transactions have been mitigated.

]]>https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/10/29/biggest-security-breach-bank-islami-customers-lose-over-6-million-in-pakistan/feed/0How to Protect Yourself from ATM Skimming?https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/10/12/how-to-protect-yourself-from-atm-skimming/
https://www.thecyberforum.com/2018/10/12/how-to-protect-yourself-from-atm-skimming/#respondFri, 12 Oct 2018 21:34:29 +0000https://www.thecyberforum.com/?p=2052Introduction ATM skimming is by far the recent and most alarming threat to your bank balance. When you are about to draw some amount out and you get an alarming message showing that you are out of cash; it feels like someone is just attacked your back. But what to do and how to protect […]

ATM skimming is by far the recent and most alarming threat to your bank balance. When you are about to draw some amount out and you get an alarming message showing that you are out of cash; it feels like someone is just attacked your back. But what to do and how to protect yourself from ATM skimming; I’m going to tell every point in great detail. But take a pause here.

ATM Skimming

It is like an identity theft for debit cards. It takes two separate components to work – a skimmer and a card reader. When you place your card on the card reader, you are actually sliding it through the counterfeit read, which scans and stores all the information on the magnetic strip.

But how the ATM skimmers can get your PIN number? Well, that’s not a tricky thing to play with you for skimmers as they are skilled in this. They place tiny spy cameras that are positioned in a direction to get a clear view of the keypad and thus they record all the ATM’s pin actions (Walters).

Some ATM skimmers deploy fake keypads in lieu of cameras to capture PIN codes. Skimming keypads are designed much like the original one and replace over it like a glove; just like the card skimmers fit over the ATM’s true card slot. If you notice any odd protrude from the edges of the keypad or any odd change in color or frame of the machine; then immediately report to the respective bank.

How to Protect Yourself?

The main thing to create a shield around you is to be vigilant enough of what you are doing and are going to do. Now let’s see which the key points are you all should know about before using your ATM card.

Scrutinize the ATM

First of all, do an overall check of the color scheme and machine structure. This should be the same as every typical ATM machine. You need to check card slider by holding and shaking the machine and if found anything strange, this might be a skimmer. Report to the police nearby and verify the system before using it. Especially before using your debit card. Always check the system on all place, whenever you are about to draw an amount.

Cover the Keypad While Entering your Pin

By covering the keypad before entering your pin, you are actually hiding the code from spy cameras and onlookers to get an eye on it.

Check Your Bank and Card Statements

Somehow, if someone gets your information, you only have 2 days – in case of debit card – to report the case in order to get relief from being charged. But for a credit card, you then have 60 days to report the fraudulent activity.

Be Choosy

Avoid using ATMs at stores and general places as these are not regularly monitored and thus can be prone to get tampered easily by anyone.

Set up Online or Mobile Banking App

It is the handiest way to have an eye on your transactions. If, ever, you have any suspicion of being fallen into the trap of skimmer, just check through the online banking or mobile banking app and get rid of all worries.

Transaction Alerts

You need to set up the transaction balance alerts to check your account often. It can be set up in online and mobile banking apps. Purchase alerts can be set up for your debit and credit card via Visa.

Busy ATMs

If you are at a place where you don’t know the authenticity of ATM and there’s no way to look for other options then you should use the one on busy roads with security cameras and lots of foot traffic. They are less likely to be skimmed.

Bottom line

If you have gone through all these steps and are successfully made a transaction, even then ATM skimming can happen. For this, you need to check your transaction off and on and if see any unauthorized transaction, immediately report the respective bank to limit your liability.

Take Action On

The siren call of ATM skimmers is heard when you get to know that you are out of balance. In this phase, you don’t know what to do at first place. But if this happens, you immediately need to take an action to inform the respective bank and let them know what has happened in their system under their noses.

Cybercrime is full of scams and spams; a swarm from where victims can never be on the same track again as they were before this cyber attack. Cybercriminals always hunt for bigger deals from where they can get high profit. Hence having a very huge amount in your bank can also land you in the tricks of ATM skimmers.

Besides opting all the solutions against ATM skimming, you also need to take extra care of your transaction activities at first. Reporting is a must in case of this incidence but prevention is more important as